Son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy arrested on probation violation

(Reuters) - The son of a Nevada rancher who was at the center of an armed standoff with federal agents in a dispute over cattle grazing rights has been arrested on a probation violation, Las Vegas police said on Tuesday.

Cliven Lance Bundy was taken into custody at a home in Las Vegas without incident on Monday on outstanding warrants for contempt and violating the terms of his probation, police spokesman Larry Hadfield said in a statement.

The warrants were issued by a Clark County judge who oversees a drug prevention program after Bundy failed to appear in court as ordered.

Bundy, the son of rancher Cliven Bundy, was sentenced to five years probation last year after pleading guilty to theft of a firearm and burglary.

In April the Bundy family ranch was the site of an armed protest against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as it sought to seize cattle over the elder Bundy's refusal to pay grazing fees.

The standoff near Bunkerville, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, lasted more than four hours before the agents backed down, citing safety concerns, and gave back hundreds of Bundy's cattle which they had rounded up.

Cliven Bundy has said that his son became addicted to painkillers several years ago after a doctor prescribed them following a pelvic injury.